I talk a lot about making extra money and how to make extra money here on Making Sense of Cents. I do this because I truly believe that learning about the ways to make extra money and making extra income can change a person’s life.

After all, making extra money changed my life.

Around five years ago, I was fresh out of college and stressing out about my student loans. I was also not too happy about how much money I was spending and I was not too happy about how much money I was not saving.

Then, a few years ago everything changed when I learned all about side jobs and the different things a person can do to make extra money.

Making extra money can change your life in ways such as:

It may help you pay off your debt;

It may help you save for things such as a vacation;

It may help you stop living paycheck to paycheck;

It may help you reach retirement sooner;

It may help you not feel as stuck at your job;

It may help you to become more diversified.

Whether you have just one free hour each day or if you are willing to work 40 to 50 hours a week on top of your full-time job, there are many options for you when it comes to the different ways to earn extra money.

If you are wondering “How can I make extra money?” then you've come to the right place!

2. Maintain yards – If you want to learn how to earn extra money, you can make money by mowing lawns, killing/removing weeds, cleaning gutters, raking leaves, and so on.

3. House sit – Housesitting is becoming more and more popular these days. There are many websites out there for housesitting. You might not always get paid, but you may be able to score a nice place to stay in a nice vacation spot. In many cases, you do get paid though to watch the house, water the plants, and so on.

4. Walk dogs and/or pet sit for extra money – If you love animals, then you may want to look into this. With this job, you may be going over to your client’s home to check in a few times a day, you may be staying at their house, or the animals may be staying with you.

5. Train pets – If you are good with animals, then you may want to look into training them for side money. You can help pet owners teach their pets how to behave better, do tricks, and more.

6. Groom pets – This is yet another side business related to animals, but it can be a good one. You could start a mobile pet grooming business where you go directly to the pets.

9. Scoop poop – Okay, this isn’t the most glamorous job, but someone has to do it. One of the ways to make extra money is to scoop poop for others, such as homes, businesses, and so on.

10. Shovel snow – If you get snow where you live, then you may be able to knock on your neighbor's doors and see if they would like it shoveled. If you want to go a little further, you could even invest in a plow and market your services.

11. Babysit and/or nanny children – When I was just 14, I was making $10 an hour babysitting for a neighbor. I babysat 40 hours a week and it was a great way to make extra money! If you have any special skills or provide extra work, such as cleaning up around the house, teaching the child how to speak another language, picking up the child after activities, and so on, you will most likely be able to charge more than $10 an hour.

12. Help people fix things around their home – If you are a handy person, you may be able to get paid to repair broken items around a person’s home. This is one of the ways to make extra money that may be good for someone who is often asked to fix things anyways. Put your skill to use!

13. Clean homes – Cleaning is something that many people dread. If you are good at cleaning, then you may be able to find clients who want you to come to their home to clean. This is one of the ways to make extra money that can be good, especially if you love to clean!

14. Move furniture – Moving is another task that many people dislike. Movers can earn a broad range when it comes to hourly pay, but it's usually somewhere around $50 an hour if you run your own business.

15. Takes photos of people, places, and things – Not just anyone can do this, as photography requires both skill and talent. However, if you know what you are doing then you may be able to turn your passion into a side business. You might be able to make money as a wedding photographer, portrait photographer, event photographer, and more.

16. Teach a skill – Is there something that you consider yourself an expert at that someone else may want to pay you to teach? This could include personal training, music-related, outdoor survival skills, water sports, and more.

17. Tutor on a subject– Similar to teaching a skill, you may be able to make money by tutoring someone. You may help someone with their homework, help them learn a language, prepare for an important exam, and more. My top recommendation for this is to teach english from home and earn $14-$26 an hour with VIPKID! They are in need of more tutors!

18. Wash windows – Many businesses out there outsource their window washing and this can be one of the ways to make extra money for you.. The work may not super pay well, but it can be done quickly with the right tools. Plus, if you have many clients located near each other than it may be well worth it.

19. Clean cars – I’m Facebook friends with a person who has a side business detailing cars. If you love cars, this may be a great side business for you.

20. Create balloon animals – Back when I was on a cruise last summer, I met a couple who traveled and lived on cruises. The wife was the ship’s full-time balloon animal person and only worked a few hours a day then got to enjoy all of the fun on the ship during her spare time.

21. Paint homes– If you are a good painter, you may be able to find people who are willing to pay you to paint the inside of their home. Painters where I used to live made around $25 an hour.

Find a part-time job to make extra money.

There are many, many part-time jobs out there that may be able to work along with your schedule at your full-time job as one of the ways to make extra money. You can find a job on sites such as Snagajob, Craigslist (yes, I've found a legitimate job through there before), Monster, and so on.

22. Work extra hours over the winter holidays – There are many companies that hire hundreds of thousands of jobs over the winter months such as Target, UPS, FedEx, and more.

23. Find a part-time summer job – If you have a job that gives you the summers off, then you may want to look into finding a part-time summer job to fill the days as one of the ways to make extra money. Some part-time jobs are below.

24. Bartend – If you have bartending experience, then you may be able to find a bartending job at a bar, a restaurant, a catering company, and more. Since usually the hours for this are later at night and on the weekends, you will probably be able to find a bartending job that works somewhat well with your schedule.

25. Work at a restaurant – You could be a host, wait tables, clean tables, and so on as one of the ways to make extra money.

26. Substitute teach – I know quite a few people who substitute teach both part-time and full-time and love it. Sometimes the schedule can be tricky as you may be called at the last moment, but other times you may secure a longer time frame position.

27. Work at a hotel, motel, hostel, resort, etc. – There are many jobs in the hospitality industry and this could be one of the ways to make extra money for you.

28. Work at a retail store– I worked in retail for over five years, made lifelong friends, and I was able to make an okay income to live off of. Plus, you can usually receive a good discount when working in retail.

29. Guide tours – Is there something out there you love and that you are very knowledgeable in? Maybe you should lead a tour!

30. Lifeguard – You could lifeguard at a community pool, a private pool, a water park, and so on.

31. Ref sport events – Different sports and leagues pay differently, but you can usually earn a great part-time income by reffing a sport.

32. Deliver items – There are many things you could deliver for businesses. You could deliver food, groceries, flowers, and more as one of the ways to make extra money by delivering items.

33. Lend a hand on a farm– Farm work is hard and loyal/dedicated workers are usually hard to come by due to this. If you are ready to put some sweat in, you may be able to find a job on a farm.

34. Deliver newspapers – Delivering newspapers can be a good way to make some side money. You may have to wake up early, but maybe those are the hours you are looking for.

35. Complete chores for others – Being someone’s assistant can be an interesting way to make money. Someone may pay you to do their laundry, clean their home, pick up their food, answer phone calls, and more.

36. Help a person with disabilities with day-to-day life – I know a few people who do this and they all say that it’s a very worthwhile job to have as you are making a meaningful impact on someone’s life. With this job, you might help a person shop for groceries, you might show them how to make meals, you might help them with their homework, help them find a job, and so on.

Make extra money online.

I am all about making income online in order to make extra money. You can work from the comfort of your home, usually on your own schedule, and you can be location independent and travel all over the world if you want to.

37. Help others with their resume – A little over one year ago, I interviewed a reader who ran a resume business. She showed us how others can learn how to make side money by helping others create great resumes so they can land their next job.

38. Edit articles – Blogs need editors! No matter how many times a person reads an article, something usually slips through. If you're a grammar-nut, then this can be a great way to make extra money.

39. Manage social website accounts for others – Being a social media manager can be a fun job. Not everyone can do it but if you have social media skills then it might be something to look into. It's not as easy as just sharing random content as you do need to create a strategy that works, but it can turn into a fun career if you are successful.

40. Help others start websites – If you are a tech-savvy, others may be willing to pay you to help them start their website. This can be a great way to make extra money if you have the skills to do so!

41. Use Swagbucks for your online searches – Swagbucks allows me to occasionally earn Amazon gift cards with very little work. Swagbucks is just like using Google to do your online searches, except you get rewarded points called SB for the things you do through their website. Then, when you have enough points called SB, you can redeem them for cash, gift cards, and more. You'll receive a free $5 bonus just for signing up through my link!

Another one you may be interested in related to this one is Nielsen Digital Voice. Digital Voice is a part of Nielsen, which I'm sure you've heard of. All you have to do is surf the web and you may be able to start earning money.

42. Post on social media – If you have social media accounts, you may be able to make money by posting advertisements on your accounts. One company that is popular for this is Izea. You can learn more about making money through Izea here.

43. Write for others – Freelance writing can be a fun way to make money online if you enjoy writing. First, you will need to find someone to hire you. This means you will most likely need experience in order to gain experience. Don’t worry, it is possible. You can start by creating your own blog and writing on there first. This way future employers can see firsthand if your writing style will work for them or not.

44. Moderate forums – Some forums will pay you to moderate their message boards. If there is a forum you often visit, you might want to see if they are hiring.

45. Test websites – This is a relatively new way to make money online at home that I have heard about. UserTesting.com is a website that pays you to test websites. You get paid $10 for each website you review and test, and $15 per website that you mobile test. You do not need to be a super technical person for this online job as they want real people to review websites to see what people really think.

46. Virtual assist– A virtual assistant helps a business run more smoothly. You can be contracted for one project (such as collecting data for research) or it can be a continuing job such as replying to e-mails and comments. Virtual assistant work can range broadly. There are many, many tasks that people hire virtual assistants for. Read How To Become a Virtual Assistant and What Does a Virtual Assistant Do?

Sell your stuff to make money.

There are many things you can do to make extra money by selling items. We all have extra things laying around that can be sold, or you can even search for items that can be bought and resold for a profit.

47. Sell items on eBay– Whether you have old clothes you want to sell, a car, electronics, and so on, eBay can be a great way to sell many different types of items. eBay also has worldwide reach, which can be great if the area where you live doesn’t have a large enough market for the item you want to sell.

48. Sell items on Craigslist – Craigslist can be a great way to sell your items and earn a higher value for it too. You will have to meet up with the person though, so, always be safe.

49. Sell to secondhand stores – There are many secondhand stores out there that will take your clothing and shoes. Stores like Plato’s Closet, Hut No. 8, and Buffalo Exchange will pay upfront for young adult clothing that is recent, and they take all of the legwork out of selling items, which is nice. There are also secondhand stores for designer items, women’s clothing, children’s items, and more. Some pay upfront whereas others may not pay you until after the item has sold.

50. Sell items through a garage sale – A garage sale can be an easy way to make extra money because everyone comes straight to you. The only downside is that usually you can’t charge as high for your items as you can if you were to sell on site such as eBay or Craigslist.

51. Sell your old books – Back when I was in college, I would always sell any books immediately after the class was over. This helped me to regain the amount that I originally paid for the book. You can sell your books on websites such as Half.com.

52. Sell your gift cards – If you have any gift cards in your wallet that you know you won’t use, you should think about selling them. There are many, many websites out there that will pay you cash.

53. Sell on Etsy – Etsy is a great place to sell homemade items, vintage finds, and craft supplies. If you are a crafty person, definitely check out this website.

54. Sell food – If you make a lot of your own food, you may want to start making extra and selling it to others in your area such as at farmers markets and flea markets. You may be able to sell canned goods, vegetables, and more.

55. Sell/donate blood, plasma, eggs, etc. – Yup, all of these can be sold for a price and you can find ways to make extra money through this avenue.

Make extra money at your job.

If you’re not interested in finding a separate way to make extra money, then you may want to look into seeing if there are ways to make more money at the job you already have.

56. Ask for a raise – Asking for a raise may be the best way to make extra money, as the work is the same and you most likely won’t be adding additional hours to your work week.

57. Get a promotion – If just a raise is not possible, then you may want to look into finding a promotion at your company that you know comes with a pay bump.

58. Work overtime – Another way to make more money at the job you already have is to see if your company will allow you to work overtime. In many cases, overtime is welcomed and you can earn a decent amount of money through this. Plus, what’s an extra hour or two when you’re already there?

59. Earn bonuses – Depending on the industry you work in, you may be able to earn bonuses as one of the ways to make extra money. When Wes worked in sales, there were tons of opportunities for bonuses. One time he won the opportunity to spin a wheel 12 times because he did so well that month. Each spin was worth between something like $100 and $1,000. This was a great opportunity to make extra money, and there are actually several sales jobs out there that provide opportunities like this.

How to make extra money by renting items.

There are many items you may be able to rent to others as one of the ways to make extra money.

60. Rent your garage space – If you have extra space in your garage, you might be surprised to hear that there are people willing to pay you for this space. Some just don’t have the room at their own place but they still want a safe storage area for their belongings, such as a classic car. I once heard about someone who made an extra $200 a month by doing this.

61. Rent a parking spot – If you have your own parking spot but don’t use it or don’t need it as bad, then you may want to rent it out to someone else. Depending on where you live, you may be able to pull in a nice bit of cash each month.

63. Rent textbooks to others – Yes, you can rent your textbooks to others as well and earn a fee as one of the ways to make extra money, just like many of the online rental companies.

64. Rent out your car – Did you know that you can rent out your car on an hourly, daily, weekly, or on an even long basis in certain areas? If you know you aren't going to use your car and that your insurance will still cover your vehicle, then this could be an interesting idea with very little work needed.

65. Rent wedding decorations and furniture – Many brides nowadays are renting furniture so that they can save money and so that they don’t have to find a use for an item after the wedding is over. This includes couches, ceremony arbors, tables, chairs, centerpiece decorations, mason jars, and so on.

66. Rent a photo booth – Photo booths can be a relatively affordable way to start a business and they are also quite lucrative. You may be able to rent your photo booth for events such as weddings, festivals, parties, and more.

Miscellaneous easy ways to make extra money.

This is the area that includes all other easy ways to make extra money that didn’t really fit into any of the above categories.

67. Bake desserts – Are you great in the kitchen? If so, then you may want to bake goods for others. Others may buy your desserts for their wedding, a baby shower, a birthday party, an anniversary celebration, and more.

68. Place advertisements on your car, home, or even on your body – Yes, there are companies out there that will pay you to place an advertisement on your car, home, or even your body (such as in the form of a tattoo on your forehead). If there’s space on your car or on your fence that you don’t mind placing an ad on, then look into this!

69. Be an extra in a movie or TV show – If there’s a movie or TV show that is being filmed near you, you could always find ways to make extra money by being an extra in it. You won’t have to do much and it could be a lot of fun, especially if you are able to meet someone famous!

70. Invest – There are no guarantees when it comes to investing, but you should always start sooner rather than later. If you are looking for a good investing platform, I recommend Motif. Motif Investing allows individuals to invest affordably. This approachable investing platform makes it easy to buy a portfolio of up to 30 stocks, bonds or ETFs for just $9.95 total commission.

71. Receive bonuses and rewards for using a credit card – There are many credit cards out there that will give you cashback just for using them. If you are good with credit cards (please skip this if you are not), this is something to look into as you can make money without having to do much. Read How To Use Credit Cards To Earn Cheap/Free Vacations.

72. Take part in medical research studies – Wes took part in two or three medical studies and earned a few thousand dollars by doing them. They required minimal work, but he did have to stay overnight a few nights and get his blood drawn a lot. The money can be well worth it though if you don’t mind that.

73. Create graphics – Creating fun and engaging graphics takes talent and it's a service that many are often looking for. This is another of the ways to make extra money that you may be interested in.

74. Use Ebates when shopping online – If you ever shop online, you should always use a cash back website like Ebates so that you can earn free cash back and make extra money just for shopping online. It doesn’t cost anything to use Ebates. Instead, you just click on a link through their website that leads you to the store you are interested in shopping at. They earn money from you shopping through their link and they give you a part of what they receive back as a thank you for using them. You can still use coupons and discounts when shopping as well, so it’s just an extra way to make money back on your purchases for very little work. You can sign up for Ebates here.

75. Enter contests and giveaways – There's no guarantee that you will win anything when entering contests, but it is possible. You may win cash, gift cards, vacations, electronics, and more. They key here is to enter as many as you can.

76. Recycle – There are many, many items out there you can recycle for ways to make extra money depending on where you live. This may include plastic, metal, corks, and more.

77. Mystery shop – Yes, you can actually get paid to shop at stores and eat at restaurants. You can read more about mystery shopping and the mystery shopping company I recommend in my guide here.

78. Try InboxDollars.InboxDollars is an online rewards website I recommend if you want to find ways to earn extra money and make extra money. You can earn cash by taking surveys, playing games, shopping online, searching the web, redeeming grocery coupons, and more. Also, by signing up through my link, you will receive $5.00 for free just for signing up!

If you enjoyed reading about how to make extra money, you're also going to love:

What other ways to make extra money are there? How much extra money do you make each month?

Comments

I would be careful with Nielsen. I installed their software exactly as asked. Within hours, my computer started having issues re-starting and by the next day, it stopped working altogether. I’m not the only one who experienced issues, as I found out after Googling. Some have no issues and others have tons, so just a word of caution 🙂

I love this list! So motivating, and way beyond the typical idea of “sell so much stuff that your kids think they’re next.” 🙂 My question is about #38, editing ~ how does one get started doing this? I love to write on occasion, but I fear that I wouldn’t have enough to say to keep a blog going. However, I confess to being a grammar/spelling freak, and sometimes it feels like a curse because of the distraction it causes. I’d be interested in your suggestions.

There are numerous sites and groups out there that help others find editing jobs. The “easiest” and most known way that I know of others getting into editing roles is by blogging first. Then, clients can find you that way.

OMG, you are so smart, Michelle Schroeder-Gardner. I have never thought or heard of most of these when trying to make extra money. Thanks so much. I have a question about number 38, edit articles for blogs. Where can you go to edit bloggers articles? Thanks again.

Hi, Michelle! I’ve done a couple of these things…I was an extra in a movie YEARS ago (it was Varsity Blues…so yeah, it’s been awhile!) I really just did that for fun – I did get paid though. More recently, I’ve done some editorial work for an author friendfor which I did NOT get paid. It was more of a favor in exchange for getting to read her trilogy early. I also use Viggle and though I’ve only had it for a few days, I like it. In fact, I used some of my points to buy a song this morning! Unfortunately it seems they don’t offer gift cards like they used to but they DO have books, audiobooks and music; all of which I like!

Its always good to read through a list like this – gives me plenty of ideas to pursue! Mostly i do online earning from various sites and blog about my experiences and research into them to help people avoid scams. Your post gave me a few new ones to check out!

Thank you for sharing this list! Some of these things I had never even heard of – like editing other people’s blogs or all the survery/shopping opportunities. I will be checking some of these options out 🙂

I recently had a friend who got involved with TaskRabbit.com. It’s a site that hooks side hustlers up with people who need various tasks done, such as grocery shopping or standing in line at the post office.

The only downsides are that they only offer the orientation webinar once a month and just like other services (Uber, Lyft) there aren’t as many jobs available if you aren’t in a major urban area.

its an exact piece of article which i had been searching on i just stumbled on this website through mathewwoodward.co.uk and all 75 ways are most appropriate to start on but why i dont know peoples are more likely to beg instead of working…………Michelle i really appreciate your research on this and keep blogging similar article have a good day 🙂

1) Better and Tighter budgeting. Thats right saving a dollar is just as beneficial as making a dollar.

2) I lend money to folks who would otherwise have trouble obtaining a loan. I know it sounds risky and well I suppose it is. But the secret is to take advantage of local and personal factors that don’t exist in typical loan agreements. for example I have a loan investment that is two weeks old and worth 2700 today that has already yielded or paid 400 and is secured by a car title. This loan cost me 2655 initially and should be paid off with in 10 weeks. so 12 weeks total. annually that is over a 50% return i think. I know the borrowers situation. what he does, how much he gets paid, and his overall intentions.

I use to think giving folks credit card consolidation loans at like 12-13 percent interest plus maybe a little processing fee would be a good idea but what I found out through researching the idea is that folks who take those loans often start out with the best intentions but end up eventually falling prey to the temptation to start spending money via the credit cards they just paid off wth a loan. before you know it they are in twice as much debt as before.

Just a quick question to help myself, and others, understand your math here. You state you have a loan valued at $2700 and that it cost you $2655. That makes it sound like you’re making $45 interest, which I know can’t be correct. To simplify everything, how much did you loan out to this person in total and what is the agreed amount to be paid back? Also, how do you handle the collateral situation without some type of escrow company involved? Lastly, with the very strict and very numerous regulations that surround all financial industries and the regulations on the instruments / products they sell and provide, is all of this above board, legally? I wouldn’t want to have to take someone to small-claims court and then get burned because it wasn’t a legal transaction to begin with. Thanks for answering any of these that you can!

Like the list! I am trying out the UserTesting, I installed the program, but when it comes to record my sample video, it’s saying it doesn’t hear my sample recording. I don’t have an external microphone and am wondering if/where the internal microphone is on the computer? Sorry, I’m not tech savvy at all! Is there an internal microphone on the computer or do I need to get an external one and plug it in??

I know people always say that they can make extra money taking surveys, but I’ve never been successful with it. It seems I’m either not qualified for most of the surveys or I don’t actually get rewarded for the surveys I do take. Has anyone ever actually been successful with online survey taking? And how much can you actually make doing them!?

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Hello and welcome!My name is Michelle and I'm the author/owner of Making Sense of Cents. Learning how to save money and make more money changed my life. It allowed me to pay off $40,000 in student loans, start my own business, and I now travel full-time.